The index has now gone up for five straight months, with a combined increase of 16.9 points. In August from August 2015, it was up 18 points. It ranges from 0 to 100, with scores higher than 50 indicating optimism.

The result is based on a poll of 3,155 businesses – 1,247 small, 1,179 medium and 729 large ones – from September 1 to 14, 2016. ■